Thaksin apologises for expiration of Tak Bai case

He made this remark during his visit to Saphan Wittaya School in Narathiwat’s Cho Ai Rong district. His visits to Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were aimed at holding peace talks as an adviser to ASEAN chairman.

He said he had committed to taking care of people when he was prime minister in 2001-2006. He noted that Muslims are aware of the importance of understanding, respect, love and peace.

“If I have done anything wrong or was not satisfactory, please forgive me so that we can turn [things] around and solve the problem together,” he said.

The Tak Bai incident saw the deaths of 85 Malay Muslims in Thailand's Narathiwat province on October 25, 2004. The incident occurred as part of the southern Thailand insurgency between the Thai government and Malay Muslim separatists.

However, the case’s statute of limitations expired on October 25, 2024, resulting in reactions among the political opposition and activists to uphold the rights of victims’ families to truth, justice and reparations after two decades of waiting.

Earlier during a meeting with locals at Wat Prachum Cholthara in Su-ngai Padi district, Thaksin vowed to continue working on solving insurgency in the three southernmost provinces.

Thaksin thanked people for welcoming him, saying that he now has confidence in Narathiwat’s economic potential as he has not been there for 20 years. He hopes to see Narathiwat to be at peace, so the province can be developed further.

“Every religion teaches people about peace and forgiving others,” he said, adding that the gathering of Buddhists and Muslims at the meeting is a good beginning for peace and economic development.

Thaksin said he believes that the number of Buddhists in the province has dropped because of the insurgency and a low birth rate, triggering a decline in population and school closures. 

“We want to see an increase in newborns, so we should stimulate the economy and tackle narcotics, so the situation will return to normal,” he said.

He promised that his visit would benefit the three southernmost provinces, saying that he wanted to continue addressing the issues he was unable to resolve during his tenure as PM.